PORT ARANSAS — Port Aransas schools are getting reimbursed for measures they took to get things up and running after Hurricane Harvey.

The district on Monday announced it had received a grant for more than $1.2 million Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for things such as generators, air dryers, portables and security. Those items and more were needed in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm hit the area Aug. 25, 2017.

School and district officials gathered at the Brundrett Middle School cafeteria for the announcement, and were joined by U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud.

Above them was a roof that was, for the most part, gone after Harvey struck the coastal town. At the time, not one classroom in the district was usable, Port Aransas ISD Superintendent Sharon McKinney said to about two dozen middle and high schoolers in attendance.

"It was obvious from the beginning that we as a community needed our schools to reopen to signify that our community would survive and once again prosper," McKinney said.

She said the schools have been repaired and students are back in their classrooms.

"It sure is nice when you've had those kinds of expenses to get that reimbursement back so we can continue to operate our school district," McKinney told the Caller-Times.

Superintendent Sharon McKinney speaks at Brundrett Middle School on Oct. 29, 2018 to announce a more than $1.2 million FEMA grant for Port Aransas ISD.(Photo: Eleanor Dearman)

Cloud said storm recovery has been a focus since he won a June 30 special election and took office. Part of carrying out the recovery has involved Cloud helping folks through the FEMA process. For this reimbursement, Cloud said his office submitted three congressional inquiries into the status of the funds release to the district.

"We'll continue to keep working on making sure that we recover fully," he said during the announcement.

Port Aransas High principal Jim Potts called the grant a "big relief."

"It's good to have that sense of security that we're financially stable again," Potts said.

High School senior Christopher Stevenson, 17, was among those sitting in for the announcement.

Brundrett Middle School on Oct. 29, 2018.(Photo: Eleanor Dearman)

Stevenson, a member of the school's student council, said he had to wait for the school district to reopen before getting back to school. He said it was "shocking" to see all the damage to the schools he'd long attended.

Since the hurricane, he described seeing the town become more and more operational — including the schools.

"I think it means a lot," Stevenson said of having officials come to the school for the announcement.

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Ron Pierson sits on a couch in his parsley rebuilt home in Port Aransas surrounded by personal belongings he has tried to salvage. Ron Pierson home was badly damaged in Hurricane Harvey and has not been bale to afford to rebuild his home leaving him to leave in an RV parked next to his home. Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times

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Port Aransas Mayor Charles Bujan discusses damage to his town after Hurricane Harvey during a press conference on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017. He described residents as "resilient" and "strong." Yihyun Jeong/The Republic

Darlene Vasquez returned to what was going to be a retirement home to survey the damage Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Fulton near Bronte Street following Hurricane Harvey. She said she had been unable to find information so she and her husband decided to come check out the trailer and her mother's trailer themselves. "I was so sick and I'm still sick to my stomach," she said. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Davonn Phothiboupha stayed in this fiberglass storm shelter bought by Linda Caster, a resident of Holiday Beach in Aransas County, as Hurricane Harvey made landfall and she said it saved her and their lives. Her two dogs, including Jamie the Thief, also stayed in the pod. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Kim Weatherford surveys the damage at his vacation home in Copano Cove in Rockport, TX on August 30, 2017. The home sustained major damage from Hurricane Harvey.
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Philip Stevens looks back at his home on Sunday, August, 27, 2017, after part of his house was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane when it landed in the Gulf Coast.
File photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Gabe Hernandez/Caller-Times

Families take shelter at the FEMA Dome operated by the American Red Cross after Hurricane Harvey displaced them Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, at Tulso-Midway High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey struck the Texas Coastal Bend as a Category 4 Friday, August 25, 2017. File photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Gabe Hernandez/Caller-Times

Rockport-Fulton Pirates stand for the playing of the alma mater following their loss to the Somerset Bulldogs on Friday, October 21 at Pirate Stadium. It was their first home game since Hurricane Harvey. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Rockport-Fulton High School cheerleaders are introduced before the start of the Rockport-Fulton Pirate football game against the Somerset Bulldogs on Friday, October 21 at Pirate Stadium. It was their first home game since Hurricane Harvey. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Rockport-Fulton High School students cheer on the Rockport-Fulton Pirate football team during their game against the Somerset Bulldogs on Friday, October 21 at Pirate Stadium. It was their first home game since Hurricane Harvey. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group provided Fulton resident Jannet Bardwell with a new manufactured home. They celebrated her return to Fulton and the new home with a ribbon cutting on Friday, May 25, 2018. She had been displaced to Arkansas after a bedroom was ripped from her manufactured home and the roof caved in on another bedroom during Hurricane Harvey. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group provided Fulton resident Jannet Bardwell with a new manufactured home. They celebrated her return to Fulton and the new home with a ribbon cutting on Friday, May 25, 2018. She had been displaced to Arkansas after a bedroom was ripped from her manufactured home and the roof caved in on another bedroom during Hurricane Harvey. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Aerial view from cities in the Coastal Bend after Hurricane Harvey made its way to the area on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey was a category 4 hurricane that landed in the Texas Gulf Coast and destroyed buildings. Gabe Hernandez/Caller-Times